Definitions, Sources and Explanatory Notes

 Category:   Petroleum Prices
 Topic:   All Sellers No. 2 Distillate Prices by Sales Type, Selected States

  Definitions

Key Terms Definition
Commercial/Institutional An energy-consuming sector that consists of service-providing facilities and equipment of: businesses; Federal, State, and local governments; and other private and public organizations, such as religious, social, or fraternal groups. The commercial sector includes institutional living quarters. It also includes sewage treatment facilities. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a wide variety of other equipment. Note: This sector includes generators that produce electricity and/or useful thermal output primarily to support the activities of the above-mentioned commercial establishments.
Gas Plant Operator Any firm, including a gas plant owner, which operates a gas plant and keeps the gas plant records. A gas plant is a facility in which natural gas liquids are separated from natural gas or in which natural gas liquids are fractionated or otherwise separated into natural gas liquid products or both. For the purposes of this survey, gas plant operator data are contained in the refiner categories.
Industrial An energy-consuming sector that consists of all facilities and equipment used for producing, processing, or assembling goods The industrial sector encompasses the following types of activity: manufacturing (NAICS codes 31-33); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (NAICS code 11); mining, including oil and gas extraction (NAICS code 21); natural gas distribution (NAICS code 2212); and construction (NAICS code 23). Overall energy use in this sector is largely for process heat and cooling and powering machinery, with lesser amounts used for facility heating, air conditioning, and lighting. Fossil fuels are also used as raw material inputs to manufactured products. Note: This sector includes generators that produce electricity and/or useful thermal output primarily to support the above-mentioned industrial activities.
No. 2 Diesel Fuel A fuel that has distillation temperatures of 500 degrees Fahrenheit at the 10-percent recovery point and 640 degrees Fahrenheit at the 90-percent recovery point and meets the specifications defined in ASTM Specification D 975. It is used in high-speed diesel engines that are generally operated under uniform speed and load conditions, such as those in railroad locomotives, trucks, and automobiles.
No. 2 Diesel Fuel, High Sulfur No. 2 diesel fuel that has a sulfur level above 500 ppm.
No. 2 Diesel Fuel, Low Sulfur No. 2 diesel fuel that has a sulfur level between 15 ppm and 500 ppm (inclusive). It is used primarily in motor vehicle diesel engines for on-highway use.
No. 2 Diesel Fuel, Ultra Low Sulfur No. 2 diesel fuel that has a sulfur level no higher than 15 ppm. It is used primarily in motor vehicle diesel engines for on-highway use.
No. 2 Distillate A petroleum distillate that can be used as either a diesel fuel (see No. 2 Diesel Fuel) or a fuel oil (see No. 2 Fuel Oil).
No. 2 Fuel Oil (Heating Oil) A distillate fuel oil that has a distillation temperature of 640 degrees Fahrenheit at the 90-percent recovery point and meets the specifications defined in ASTM Specification D 396. It is used in atomizing type burners for domestic heating or for moderate capacity commercial/industrial burner units.
Other End Users For motor gasoline, all direct sales to end users other than those made through company outlets. For No. 2 distillate, all direct sales to end users other than residential, commercial/institutional, industrial sales, and sales through company outlets. Included in the "other end users" category are sales to utilities and agricultural users.
Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD): PADD 1 (East Coast):
   PADD 1A (New England): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.
   PADD 1B (Central Atlantic): Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
   PADD 1C (Lower Atlantic): Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia.
PADD 2 (Midwest): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin.
PADD 3 (Gulf Coast): Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas.
PADD 4 (Rocky Mountain): Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming.
PADD 5 (West Coast): Alaska (North Slope and Other Mainland), Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.
Price (Unit Price) Total revenue derived from the sale of product during the reference month divided by the total volume sold; also known as the weighted average price. Total revenue should exclude all taxes but include transportation costs that were paid as part of the purchase price.
Refiner A firm or the part of a firm that refines products or blends and substantially changes products, or refines liquid hydrocarbons from oil and gas field gases, or recovers liquefied petroleum gases incident to petroleum refining and sells those products to resellers, retailers, reseller/retailers or ultimate consumers. "Refiner" includes any owner of products that contracts to have those products refined and then sells the refined products to resellers, retailers, or ultimate consumers. For the purposes of this survey, gas plant operator data are included in this category.
Reseller A firm (other than a refiner) that is engaged in a trade or business that buys refined petroleum products and then sells them to a purchaser who is not the ultimate consumer of those refined products.
Residential An energy-consuming sector that consists of living quarters for private households. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a variety of other appliances. The residential sector excludes institutional living quarters.
Retailer A firm (other than a refiner, reseller, or reseller/retailer) that carries on the trade or business of purchasing refined petroleum products and reselling them to ultimate consumers without substantially changing their form.
Retail Outlet Any company-owned outlet (e.g., service station) selling gasoline, on-highway diesel fuel, or propane for on-highway vehicle use which is under the direct control of the firm filing the EIA-782 by virtue of the ability to set the retail product price and directly collect all or part of the retail margin. This category includes retail outlets: (1) being operated by salaried employees of the company and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates, and/or (2) involving personnel services contracted by the firm.
Sale The transfer of title from the seller to a buyer for a price. Excludes intrafirm transfers, products consumed directly by the reporting firm, or sales of bonded fuel. Also excludes products delivered/loaned to exchange partners, except where the amount supplied exceeds the amount received and the differential is invoiced as a sale during the reference month.
Sales for Resale Sales of refined petroleum products to purchasers who are other-than-ultimate consumers; wholesale sales.
Sales to End Users Sales made directly to the consumer of the product. Includes bulk consumers, such as agriculture, industry, and utilities, as well as residential and commercial consumers.
Sulfur A yellowish nonmetallic element, sometimes known as "brimstone." It is present at various levels of concentration in many fossil fuels whose combustion releases sulfur compounds that are considered harmful to the environment. Some of the most commonly used fossil fuels are categorized according to their sulfur content, with lower sulfur fuels usually selling at a higher price.

For definitions of related energy terms, refer to the EIA Energy Glossary.

  Sources

Energy Information Administration, Forms EIA-782A, "Refiners'/Gas Plant Operators' Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report" and EIA-782B, "Resellers'/Retailers' Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report." ( Form/Instructions, Background, Survey Methodology and Statistical Details )

  Explanatory Notes

  • Values shown in the current month for No. 2 Distillate at the U.S. and PADD levels in the residential, retail outlets, and sales for resale categories are initial estimates calculated using prior history of the series as well as present and past values of other related time series, such as spot prices and heating degree days. More details.
  • For all other data, values shown for the current month are preliminary. Values shown for the previous month may be revised to account for late submissions and corrections. Final revisions to monthly and annual values are available upon publication of the Petroleum Marketing Annual. Annual averages that precede the release of the Petroleum Marketing Annual are calculated from monthly data published in the Petroleum Marketing Monthly.
  • For purposes of this survey, No. 2 diesel fuel and No. 2 fuel oil are classified in accordance to what the product was sold as, regardless of the actual specifications of that product (i.e., if a No. 2 distillate was sold as a heating oil or fuel oil, the volume and price would be published in the category "No. 2 Fuel Oil" even if the product conformed to the higher specifications of a diesel fuel.
  • In January 2007, ultra low-sulfur diesel was added.
  • The 4th quarter of 1993 was a transitional period between the predecessor EIA-782 survey and the revised EIA-782 survey system. The revised survey system contains additional product and sales categories, which may not be consistent with categories derived from the predecessor survey system. Beginning January 1994 all data are from the revised survey system and are consistent.
  • Map of PAD Districts and Federal/State motor fuel tax table from the Petroleum Marketing Monthly.